It's been an exciting week at Gamercade this past week! We've wrapped up much of the audio features in both the editor and console. The community is continuing to grow with more contributors and members in the discord each day! Here's to another great week ahead.
General Updates
In this section, we discus changes and improvements which happened over the week.
Audio Editor
Since .gif doesn't have sound, start by watching this video:
This video showcases the current state of the editor in regards to audio features. This includes all of the instruments:
- Wavetable: Generate or draw waveforms on the waveform chart. Great for chiptunes or other complex sounds.
- FM Synth: A 4-op FM synth, similar to the Yamaha YM2612 found in the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive. It can be complicated to use, but can produce tons of unique and interesting sounds.
- Sampler: Playback pre-recorded .wav files. They can be pitched and played back at specific notes.
It also includes the tracker-style editor UI, which allows users to create and edit phrases, chains, songs, and sound effects. One great thing about this is that trackers are very efficient in data size. Another interesting point about the way the editor and console is setup, is that it uses the exact same code to generate (synthesize) the sounds on both applications! This means what you hear in the editor is exactly what it will sound like in-game.
Console Improvements Odds & Ends
- Updated the project readme with motivation & project goals sections.
- Improved how the audio engine handles rollbacks to further reduce popping/clicking when the state changes.
Editor Improvements Odds & Ends
- Audio Editor has been implemented!
- Ability to create and edit three kinds of instruments: Wavetables, FM Synth, Sampler.
- Ability to create phrases, chains, songs, and Sfx.
- Oscilloscope view to see actual sound output.
- Piano roll for testing and playing instruments.
Website Improvements Odds & Ends
- Adjusted Audio Api Pages
- Added groundwork for future audio editor pages
What's Next
In this section, we discus primary focus areas for the project. This includes features actively being worked on, as well as things potentially coming in the near or long term future.
First Release Prep
Now that audio exists in a functional state in both the console and editor, we have completed the entirety of the core features! It's time to start preparing for our first official release! Much of this is going to involve documentation updates, usability fixes, major bug patches, and other cleanup style tasks. So for the time being, we will pause development on new features in favor of these. While we don't have a specific date set in mind currently, we do expect it to be a matter of weeks, not months.
Call to Action
What can you do to support the project?